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Owen vs Angle.
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Apr 3, 2020 03:17
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I have a fun one to think about : What if Katsuyori Shibata didn't leave NJPW in the 2000s? When Shibata first came up he was hailed as one of NJPW's most promising prospects, right up there with Tanahashi and Nakamura. Together they were dubbed the "New Musketeers" and expected to carry the company for the next decade. However, due to personal issues and frustration with the company's direction, Shibata abruptly left in 2005 to work on the indies and pursue an MMA career. This was seen as a shocking betrayal in a country where company loyalty is still revered and strictly upheld. Flash forward to a decade later, shortly after the Bushiroad buyout, Kidani hired back Shibata -- reportedly against the wishes of the locker room, many of whom still felt bitter towards him for abandoning the company when they needed him most. NJPW smartly leaned into that bitterness with years of storylines where Shibata had to win back the trust of those he left behind, most famously in an emotional and deeply personal feud with Tana that was very much steeped in reality. Eventually he proved his loyalty and became a beloved fan favorite, but there were plenty of peaks and valleys and weird detours for him to reach that point. If Shibata stayed, does he reach that top-guy status that a lot of people had him pegged for? Or does he get lost in the shuffle behind Tana and Nakamura? Would you trade in those memorable 2010s stories of regret and redemption for the sake of having him around the whole time? Benne fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Apr 3, 2020 |
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Apr 3, 2020 07:04
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What if HHH won the King of the Ring over Hogan? Curtain call never happens and HHH doesn't get buried. He goes on to win the KOTR as originally planned. Does the Attitude Era still happen? Does Austin ever get that push?
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Apr 3, 2020 17:44
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What if Bart Gunn had done the impossible and managed to beat Butterbean at WM15? My guess is they would have tried to give Bart the push Dr. Death was intended for before WWE came to their senses and realized he was Bart Gunn. Afterwards he would languish on the lower midcard maybe winning the Hardcore or European title once or twice before being let go. On the hilarious side it might have convinced WWE to hold another Brawl 4 All with even more disastrous results.
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Apr 4, 2020 14:37
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What if Roddy Piper would do a loving job?
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Apr 12, 2020 02:28
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Vagabundo posted:What would've happened if Austin didn't break Chono's neck? It's possible he stays a "Guy Who is So Cool he Doesn't Need The Title" guy, but I have to imagine it comes at the expense of Hashimoto, somehow. But it has to extend NJPW's peak longer as that mix of guys stays fresher.
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Apr 12, 2020 02:36
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So this came to mind in the social media thread: It’s 1983, and Verne Gagne refuses to give Hogan the AWA belt if he won’t commit to working just AWA tours, while Hogan wants to continue with the big paydays he gets from being the top foreigner on New Japan tours. So Gagne tells Hogan, “okay, give me (some amount, MRT probably knows) percent of your New Japan money and we’ll be good”. Hogan tells him to piss up a rope, he gets a call/calls up Vince over in New York, and they make a deal where Hogan can continue with his New Japan tours and make more money with the WWF than he was making on AWA tours. Vince knows Hogan is money; he’s already by far the most recognizable face in wrestling as he was in the giant hit Rocky III only a year prior; by the end of ‘83 (he quite literally showed up on a December 27th show), Hogan’s in the WWF, and by the end of ‘84 he’s the champion. So, imagine this: maybe Vince lowballs Hogan for whatever reason. Maybe he doesn’t offer a percentage of merch sales. Maybe Hogan sneezes on a phone call and Vince goes apoplectic. It doesn’t matter what, but in this alternate timeline, Hogan decides it’s more worth it to just work Japan, and so he and Inoki make a deal to have Hogan be a full-timer with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. For the sake of incorporating as much history as possible, Hogan’s still already won the initial IWGP League and become the first IWGP Champion (not the same belt as the IWGP Heavyweight Championship; that title would be created in 1987, where Inoki - of course - won it). What happens? Does Vince find another guy to be the center of his Rock n’ Wrestling Connection, and does that guy work half as well as the Hulkster? Does the final of the IWGP League that created the current lineage of IWGP champions turn into an Inoki/Hogan rematch of their bout in the first IWGP League? Does wrestling in the United States blow up the way it did with WrestleMania and Hulkamania? Do Hogan and Inoki have a disagreement at some point, and Hogan jumps ship to All Japan in the early days of the Four Pillars of Heaven, leading to Hogan/Kobashi, Hogan/Misawa, Hogan/Taue, and/or Hogan/Kawada? What does the wrestling landscape turn into in this hypothetical timeline?
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Apr 12, 2020 02:41
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Benne posted:I have a fun one to think about : If anything I think if Shibata stayed he'd have ended up taking Nakamura's place in the Yuke's years. Nakamura was still kinda of meh as a top level draw till he joined Chaos and if Shibata was there his intensity and drive would of easily made him the young rival to compete with the new Ace Tanahashi's run at the top
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Apr 12, 2020 02:50
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MassRafTer posted:It's possible he stays a "Guy Who is So Cool he Doesn't Need The Title" guy, but I have to imagine it comes at the expense of Hashimoto, somehow. But it has to extend NJPW's peak longer as that mix of guys stays fresher. Didn't the neck injury that cut his title reign short stem from that injury? I'd imagine he'd have gotten a decent title run from August 1998 to the 1999 Jan 4th Dome Show, in place of Scott Norton's first run with the belt. Still does my head in that he was so highly regarded in New Japan, and it makes me wonder how big he'd have been in the US with good booking.
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Apr 12, 2020 05:56
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The Cameo posted:Hogan I guess Hogan was the right guy, at the right place at the wro- at the right time... Let me type it one more time, so you completely understand, The Cameo. If you actually believe in your mind, if you actually think that he was just the right gay-GUY, at the right place, at the right time, well then you're a bigger delusional bastard than I thought you were, Cameo.
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Apr 12, 2020 06:05
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Davros1 posted:Magnum T.A. Reports from a number of people said that he would have won the NWA strap if not for the accident, and that he was going to have a program with Flair around the time of the accident. He was red-hot at that time after the Koloff series, and had been a massive draw going back to his days in Mid-South (some of his feud with Mr Wrestling II is on Youtube, and I suggest you watch it). In a similar vein, what if David Von Erich lived longer? Yeah, yeah, that entire family was cursed and all that, but David was seen as the best of all the Von Erich brothers. Considering that World Class' was regarded as having the best television product of the late territory days (more cameras especially more hand-held cameras, better sound and graphics, etc.) and around that time had a drat good roster absorbing a lot of Houston and Mid-South talent like the Freebirds, Gino Hernandez, the Midnight Express and so forth, could World Class have been a potential third or fourth force against Gagne, McMahon and Crockett during the '80s if David didn't die so young and thus put more pressure on Kerry.
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Apr 12, 2020 06:30
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Vagabundo posted:I guess Hogan was the right guy, at the right place at the wro- at the right time... Let me type it one more time, so you completely understand, The Cameo. If you actually believe in your mind, if you actually think that he was just the right gay-GUY, at the right place, at the right time, well then you're a bigger delusional bastard than I thought you were, Cameo. 
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Apr 12, 2020 06:34
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The Cameo posted:What happens? Does Vince find another guy to be the center of his Rock n’ Wrestling Connection, and does that guy work half as well as the Hulkster? I think I've heard Meltzer say that Vince would have gone with Kerry Von Erich as his top guy. The matches would have probably been better, but Kerry didn't seem too great at promos, and with his various demons it probably wouldn't have gone well.
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Apr 12, 2020 11:08
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Who would they have had? Randy Savage, maybe?
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Apr 12, 2020 12:56
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If he wasn't racist, I think you could of gotten greatness outta Ricky Steamboat, Bad News Brown, and King Haku. You also coulda made huge stars outta Rick Rude / Macho / Bret without Hogan there. Mr Perfect/Owen were around that time too I believe
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Apr 12, 2020 18:32
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Hogan isn't going to pass up on the WWF unless he dies or something so if he dies on the set of Rocky 3 in a tragic accident everyone here would mourn I would guess Vince still expands. Given the time period he'd either try with Piper, Snuka or see if he can poach Kerry Von Erich. There's no way it'd be Macho Man, he was too small for Vince to consider making his top guy at this point. Remember, it's 1983, Randy is wrestling in Memphis at this point. It's either going to be someone who is already an established star, or someone with THE LOOK, or just incredible mic skills but also some size. Piper wasn't much taller than Savage but he was an established top star in major territories so he'd have that going for him. Snuka was already Vince's guy although he might realize he wasn't going to work nationally. And Kerry, well it's obvious why he'd want Kerry.
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Apr 12, 2020 19:09
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Ricky Steamboat is the exact kind of wrestler Vince didn't want on top. He wanted a larger-than life character who would talk loud and beat up his enemies in 10 minute matches. Ricky talked soft, got his throat smashed by Randy Savage and exacted his revenge with a small cradle. We talk a lot about how Hogan was really a dirty fighter and a cheater but that was Hogan's genius. People wanted a hero who would break the rules and kick rear end, Steamboat was not that. I think that even if Vince himself wasn't racist his audience was racist enough to not embrace Bad News Brown. ChrisBTY fucked around with this message at 19:22 on Apr 12, 2020 |
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Apr 12, 2020 19:18
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This might be a long shot, but what about Brody?
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Apr 12, 2020 19:39
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Venomous posted:This might be a long shot, but what about Brody? Brody might have worked, but given he had a history of being loyal to Japan and was a guy who got serious consideration for the NWA title, it's tough to say if he would have done it He also had a rep for being difficult, but so did Hogan and Brody was 1000x the worker
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Apr 12, 2020 19:49
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Kind of a smaller one, but I always wonder what would have happened if Rick Martel hadn't torn his knee ligament against Booker T in February 1998. Martel was WCW's TV champion, and injured his leg after slamming it against the ring ropes after a bad throw. He managed to finish the match, but he reaggravated the injury in June during his first match back and decided to hang it up. I really like his brief WCW run and thought he was catching fire at the right time. Maybe he could have ended up a guy at the top of the card ala DDP, or at the very least a solid upper-midcarder. I don't see him joining the WWF during the Invasion as he was in his early 40's at the time.
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Apr 12, 2020 19:56
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El Gallinero Gros posted:Brody might have worked, but given he had a history of being loyal to Japan and was a guy who got serious consideration for the NWA title, it's tough to say if he would have done it Was Brody a draw up in New York and the surrounding areas to have made it work? I'm really only familiar with Brody in Japan and the South. I do imagine his rep would've been tough for Vince, but like you said, he managed to hold onto Hogan and dealt with Warrior for a good bit too. What interests me about that is if Brody would've demanded some Japanese dates and forced Vince to cut ties with NJPW early to do so. I believe Hogan was a pretty decent draw in Japan and they'd use him a bit to try to get some footing there, but if it was Brody instead and he worked more dates, would WWF found more success over there?
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Apr 12, 2020 20:34
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what if Chris Benoit showed up to work on June 24th, 2007
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Apr 12, 2020 21:34
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Here's a recent what if... What if things got worse with the Wrestlers on the Saudi plane? Either it "crashes" on the take off or wrestlers are removed and detained?
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Apr 12, 2020 21:39
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Well they would still have like 200 wrestlers in catering, so they would probably get a push and Vince would act like nothing happened
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Apr 12, 2020 21:56
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Seth Rollins posted:what if Chris Benoit showed up to work on June 24th, 2007 He'd have won the title and then the police would have chased him through the arena Bugs Bunny style.
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Apr 12, 2020 22:09
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Huntman posted:Was Brody a draw up in New York and the surrounding areas to have made it work? I'm really only familiar with Brody in Japan and the South. NY didn't really have any NWA presence so Vince would have had to build him up ( which bodes well for Bruiser, actually) He mostly worked Texas and Missouri IIRC
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Apr 12, 2020 22:12
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Huntman posted:Was Brody a draw up in New York and the surrounding areas to have made it work? I'm really only familiar with Brody in Japan and the South. Brody had a couple runs on top with Bruno but it's not really like it mattered if someone was an established star in the area before. Hogan wasn't Hogan in the WWF because he had a run there a few years prior, it was because he was doing the Hulkamania gimmick that had blown up in the AWA combined with a new way of promoting and producing wrestling on TV combined with the power of the NY media. I don't know if Brody would have worked, but if Vince is offering him top dollar and to basically never lose for years, that is Brody's kind of offer.
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Apr 12, 2020 22:18
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El Gallinero Gros posted:Brody might have worked, but given he had a history of being loyal to Japan and was a guy who got serious consideration for the NWA title, it's tough to say if he would have done it Brody was also almost a decade older than Hogan, but I don't know if that would have had any influence on McMahon's hypothetical decision to hire him and let Brodymania run wild.
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Apr 12, 2020 22:30
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Seth Rollins posted:what if Chris Benoit showed up to work on June 24th, 2007 Probably massive damage to the WWE (no idea if they'd have survived it, but the press would have had an absolute field day with it) and would have definitely killed the ECW brand dead then and there.
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Apr 12, 2020 22:32
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you think Junk Yard Dog would have been a possibility as the guy to build around, or does Vince think a black guy won't get over despite the fact he was doing gangbusters for Mid-South at the same time Hulk was getting big for Verne?
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Apr 13, 2020 03:10
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Troy Queef posted:you think Junk Yard Dog would have been a possibility as the guy to build around, or does Vince think a black guy won't get over despite the fact he was doing gangbusters for Mid-South at the same time Hulk was getting big for Verne? There wasn't even a black secondary champion until the mid-90's, and JYD's feud with Greg Valentine over the IC Belt basically consisted of Valentine going "ew, black people" and JYD never getting the belt off of him. There's no loving way the WWF would have put someone black like JYD or Bad News Brown at the top in the 80s, regardless of how talented or charismatic they were.
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Apr 13, 2020 03:30
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what if gerard depardieu won the 1994 royal rumble?
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Apr 13, 2020 03:36
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WatermelonGun posted:what if gerard depardieu won the 1994 royal rumble? What if Leslie Nielsen mainevented SummerSlam 1994 against Taker?
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Apr 13, 2020 03:45
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the mainstream press from Depardieu winning the rumble would have helped the WWF. WCW possibly never explodes in popularity if this happens.
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Apr 13, 2020 03:47
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Seth Rollins posted:the mainstream press from Depardieu winning the rumble would have helped the WWF. WCW possibly never explodes in popularity if this happens. I'd imagine they might try putting the world title on an actor from a film like Scream though. Dunno how that would work out. Can you imagine? Jamie Kennedy: WWF Champion.
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Apr 13, 2020 03:53
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monsieur gepardieu, world champion would actually get david arquette’s role in the scream series. pretty sure his name is dickey.
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Apr 13, 2020 03:59
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Depardieu would take Bret Hart's spot at Wrestlemania, which might have been enough for Bret Hart to walk out of the company earlier than he did. Bret would never have signed the 20 year contract with Vince, and the Montreal Screwjob would never happen. there is no Attitude Era.
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Apr 13, 2020 04:14
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What if Big Show WASN’T a bastard? Perhaps he could stick with a face/heel alignment for longer than a week.
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Apr 13, 2020 04:20
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deapardieu’s character is just like stone cold but with wine
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Apr 13, 2020 04:30
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Depardieu's reign as WWF world heavyweight champion redefines masculine sexuality in western culture
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Apr 13, 2020 04:33
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